Batman Beyond: Neo-Gotham Knights
by Nomad88
Summary: Batman has returned to Gotham and not everyone is happy. A series of snippets and short stories that detail Batman's return and all of those effected. An Interlude between Batman Beyond Volume 1 and the highly anticipated sequel Batman Beyond Volume 2. Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN theses CHARACTERS. I repeat I DO NOT OWN these CHARACTERS. In fact while we're on the subject ALL CREDIT goes directly to DC and the people who created these characters which isn't me once again. So, having said that Please Please DO NOT SUE ME. I still do not have any Money so suing me will be pointless. So now that we've gotten that out of the way it's onto the story. **

**Hello ALL and welcome. Welcome to my new story….well new being relative, this story is a bridging tale of sorts that connects the dots to the highly anticipated sequel to Batman Beyond Volume 1. If you haven't read Batman Beyond Volume 1 yet I implore you to do so or this story will not make any sense, but I thank you for taking the chance and clicking on this story, LOL! To all my returning readers and reviewers at first I was just going to toss you all into the fray that is Batman Beyond Volume 2 but then after thinking about it I realized that it would be very mean of me to do that to you readers LOL! There are a few elements of Volume 2 that are going to be addressed and it'll probably take me too long to explain it fully in the actually story so some of the back-story is going to be told here in this bridging story and it'll be reflected in Vol 2. This bridging story is also meant to span the 3 year gap that is between Volume 1 and Volume 2. I think the best way to think of this story is kinda like the movie it's named after. Batman: Gotham Knights…snippets and short segments of isolated adventures. Now these chapters aren't going to be very long but hopefully they'll have enough content in them for you all to see the beginnings of the picture that I'm painting. Anyway enough of me talking, I'm sure you all are eager to dive back into the universe that I've created, however, before I go I just wanna say thank you to everyone whose giving this story a chance and please Review (A writer's main source of motivation) and of course I hope you all enjoy…**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The Dark Knight Has Returned **

**Neo-Gotham-Roland Hotel- 10:40pm- Conference Room- **

Standing at the head of a long rectangular shaped table was a man; a feared man in Neo-Gotham city's vast underworld. He had a name once, a real name, but his real name had been lost years ago and in its place another name took hold; the only name that he would ever need for the rest of his life. It was the name that the underworld knew him by and that name was **Black Mask**.

Black Mask was 6'3, with a powerful build, that was clearly seen through the form fitting pin-stripped blue and black suit, and upon his face was his namesake, a Black skull themed mask that encompassed his entire head and all the way to his neck where a little bit of his tan flesh peeked through.

Black Mask let his seriously blue eyes roam over the men and women that were sitting in the chairs around the rectangular table.

Each of the men and women gathered at the table were involved in the underground world of Neo-Gotham and they either operated within Neo-Gotahm or around it but they each shared a piece of the pie that was Neo-Gotham however, only a select few had the largest piece. Black Mask himself had a considerable piece and it was a fact that he loved to flaunt, but there were four others who had a piece almost as big as his own. He let his eyes travel towards the left and he locked eyes with the first person and it was none other than the elderly and long lived crime boss **Rupert Thorne.**

* * *

Rupert Thorne was an old man, he was in his late 80s early 90s and he was considerably thin. He had a bald head with spots, brown eyes, wrinkled skin and a compact automated breathing machine attached to his nose that delivered pure oxygen into his system. He was wearing a black and blue suit that was a tad too big for him. Rupert was a crime boss that was left over from Old Gotham, but despite knowing how things were back then and how they are now he still managed to stay in the game and keep his iron grip on his territory in Neo-Gotham. And one of the reasons he was able to stay in power was thanks in major part to the alluring woman sitting in the chair next to him, his granddaughter **Olivia Thorne.** Olivia was a beautiful woman in her late 30's early 40s. She had luscious dark hair, a deep tan skin complexion, crystal blue eyes, and full lips. She had an hourglass figure that was hard to miss in her tight black dress that had a red rose pendant on her left lapel.

Rupert and Olivia stared back at Black Mask who let his eyes linger upon them for a few moments longer until he switched to his other competitor of sorts and that man was **Mario Falcone. **

* * *

Mario Falcone was almost the spitting image of his late father Carmine Falcone, if his father was in his late 30s or early 40s. He was 6'1 with slicked back brown hair, hazel eyes, a clean shaven face, a mustache and fair complexion. He had a slim but lean build and he had on a stylish brown business suit. Mario leaned back in his seat as his hazel eyes briefly locked with those of Black Mask, they didn't immediately say anything but when their eyes spoke volumes.

'_Idiot'_ Black Mask thought to himself in contempt before allowing his eyes to travel to his final competitor; the man in question none other than **Umberto Maroni**, the grandson of the late Salvatore Maroni.

* * *

Umberto was 5'9 with short blonde hair, green eyes, and a clean shaven face that had a few wrinkles. He was a bit chubby but he still had a muscular undertone to him. He was wearing an orange shirt, blue pants and orange shoes. Umberto and Black Mask eyed each other and upon doing that Umberto leaned forward on the table and linked his hands together.

"You called this meeting Black Mask, I assume it was for a good reason. I have several other pressing matters to attend to so if we could please get this over….." Umberto started before he was interrupted by the slightly husky voice of Olivia Thorne.

"He didn't call us to convene Umberto, it was my grandfather." She announced.

At the mention of her grandfather all eyes in the room turned to Rupert Thorne, he eyed all of them for a second before glancing towards Black Mask. Black Mask released a sigh and held out his hand.

"You have the floor Thorne, and like Maroni I have more pressing matters to attend so if you could make your so called announcement brief it would be much appreciated" he stated in an annoyed tone.

Rupert pushed his seat back and he slowly stood up, he glanced at his granddaughter and then around the table at the faces of the 'new generation' as he called it. He cleared his throat and then let a serious look cross his features.

"The Dark Knight Has Returned" he stated.

* * *

He let his statement linger in the air for a long moment which gave him enough time to once again glance at the people around the table and they had the reaction he was expecting, none of them were concerned in the least.

"….Is that it?"

Rupert looked directly across from him and looked directly at Mario Falcone.

"Is that it Thorne? The Dark Knight has returned" he asked again.

"Yes boy." Rupert answered, "Batman has retur…."

"First off asshole, I'm a grown man, not a boy, and second who gives a rat ass about Batman returning."

"I give a rat's ass because Batman returning means that my business, your business and all of our business are in jeopardy." He stated before lowering his head and shaking it "I knew this day would come…again." he whispered to himself. Olivia looked at her grandfather and she brought one of her perfectly manicured hands to her chin.

It had been about a month since Batman had announced his returned and the whole city was treated to the Bat-Signal once again shining brightly in the sky. Since then Olivia has noticed that her grandfather had been completely on edge, worrying and nitpicking at every detail in her…their, operation. She knew him well enough to know that Batman returning has spooked him something fierce.

"Is he really as bad as you believe him to be Granddad?" she asked him. He lifted his head and glanced at her through the corner of his eyes.

"No, he's worse Olivia."

"Bah! You're over reacting in your old age." Said Mario, who waved his hand and then looked at Black Mask, "This is ridiculous"

"I don't know." Umberto Maroni said out loud. All eyes in the room turned to him once again, "In my youth…I did hear tales of the Batman but I've never experienced his exploits first hand, I believe we should give Thorne the benefit of the doubt on this one seeing as how the Batman is left over from his time."

"Thank you Umberto." Said Rupert who was about to start talking again but he was interrupted by Mario.

"He's one man…..how dangerous can one man be, not to mention that if he's left over from Thorne's time…then he's got to be at least what…..100."

* * *

A few of the gathered individuals gave a chuckle before it was silenced by Rupert who slammed his old and weathered fist down onto the table, and despite his old age he managed to rattle the table slightly, enough to get everyone to stop chuckling.

Mario looked at Rupert's fist and the younger man slowly looked up and locked eyes with the older man.

"You have no idea do you, none…..NOT A F***ING CLUE!" he shouted.

Mario and Rupert continued to stare at each other until Umberto's light baritone voice interrupted them.

"If I didn't know any better Thorne, I'd say that you're afraid of this man."

Rupert turned his head to Umberto and he relaxed slightly. He let the statement mull over in his mind before he gathered his thoughts and answered.

"I…I have seen this man take on a room full of my top men and come out unscathed. I have seen this man leapt across the roof tops; dive through windows and into burning buildings. I have seen him disappear into the shadows like something out of a bad nightmare, I've witnessed him time and time again rise above any challenge thrown his way, I've seen him do many things…impossible things…." Rupert trailed off with a far away look in his eyes.

"You haven't answered the question Thorne. Are you afraid of him?" Mario asked.

"It's not the man that I fear Falcone…it's what he represents. He represents an idea…an Idealism that we, all of us should not be the ones to be feared in the night and that crime and criminals can be stopped. He believes that we should be the ones to be preyed upon and not those out there." He said while pointing towards the window that was behind Black Mask and had a clear view of Neo-Gotham City.

"Well then he's an idiot" Mario announced with another wave of his hand.

"I thought so too….at first; as did your grandfather's" said Rupert before pointing at Umberto and then at Mario, "Hell all of us back then thought that this man was insane but that was until we saw him in action…we saw how hard he fought, the conviction that he had…..the tenacity and determination. And not only did we see it but the rest of Gotham saw it as well. This one man as you put it became a legend. He stood against us…against me, Salvatore and Carmine and showed that the idea of crime being stopped could be accomplished, however it became obvious that he couldn't do it all alone and that's when we became…..admittedly afraid, because the idea of him spread…..and it spread like wildfire. One Batman, became Batman and Robin, then a Bat-girl, then a Nightwing and so on and so forth until we were surrounded and outnumbered by these costumed fools. And soon everything that I and your grandfathers worked for was torn asunder by this…..one man, this idea. That is until…"

"Until he vanished" came Black Mask's voice.

* * *

Rupert and everyone else turned to Black Mask as he spoke for the first time in a long minute. The _'head'_ of the criminal Boss's gathered linked his hands behind his back and lowered his head a bit and looked down at the brown table before him.

"Batman vanished and with him went the idea, which paved the way for all of us to sit where we sit today."

"And now he's returned." said Umberto who had a contemplative look upon his face. Rupert's words circled in his mind and they began to cause him a bit of concern. While not having heard stories of Batman directly through his grandfather, his father Pino Maroni however used to say a few things about him but the mysterious vigilante vanished before either of them felt the full sting of what Thorne was saying about him. Umberto had a deep respect for Rupert Thorne and look in the older man's eyes spoke volumes about the danger of Batman's return. Umberto looked at him and then let his eyes drift to Olivia who eyed him as well.

"What do you suggest Rupert? What do you suggest we do about Batman?" Umberto asked while shifting in his seat slightly.

Rupert turned to him and he pursed his lips together.

"I suggest that we all stop whatever operations we have going on currently and we devote all of our time and effort into finding Batman and killing him before he can regain his footing in Gotham. He's been gone for almost 20 years, he's definitely lost some footing in this city, we can not allow him to set up shop because if he does…then all of the crooked officials and cops and everyone else we have dealings with or pay off will start to back away and our business will suffer greatly. I know it will…it has happened before and it will happen again."

"You expect us…to just stop all of our business dealings and scour this city for one man. No, I'm not going to do that." Mario stated seriously "I have a shipment deal going into Metropolis that's worth about 80 million credits and you just expect me to put that on hold. Hell no, look Thorne, you're so worried about him then you can devote all of your time and money into stopping him alright but me I got bigger fish to fry."

"He's too much for one Boss to handle….we need to pool our resources. We can stop him now if we work together."

"If he's as dangerous as you believe him to be I'm inclined to agree." Said Umberto "Batman has been back less than a minute and he's already managed to take down the Jokerz and the Knightbreed." He continued.

"Oh come on Maroni you're not buying into this, and besides if you remember the only reason why the Jokerz and Knightbreed even operated in this city is because we allowed it…remember, we all agreed that with those idiots running around the cops attention would be on them and not us."

"Yes but Mario….none of us could have imagined how far out of control those two factions would get…..the bloodshed and craziness was spilling over into my business and if Batman hadn't intervened then I would have."

"As would I" Olivia chimed, "The Jokerz and Knightbreed were becoming cancers…but now they've been cut down so Batman will turn his attention to us….my Grandfather is right we need to do something now. Smother him before he smothers us."

Loud murmurs and arguments suddenly broke out among the gathered individuals. Rupert, Olivia and Umberto were arguing for them to band together and take the fight to Batman while Mario and a few other of the minor underbosses calling their crusade against the Dark Knight ridiculous, but all while they argued one man remained silent and that was Black Mask.

* * *

Black Mask stood there with his hands linked behind his back watching the scene unfold before him which undoubtedly left a bitter taste in his mouth.

'_Look at them, children…all of them squabbling about this man. This Batman.'_ He thought to himself, the arguments only got louder and louder as everyone soon tossed in their two cents about what to do and all the while Black Mask just watched_, 'Thorne….is right about one thing, this man is dangerous. If the mere mention of his name can spark such fear into someone like him then perhaps I should be concerned…..however Maroni has a point. There are too many wheels turning for us to just stop our dealings….so what am I to do?' _

Black Mask let out a sigh and then narrowed his eyes.

"SILENCE!" he roared at the top of his lungs. The sound of his voice cut through the arguing individuals like a knife and caused all of them to instantly close their mouths and turn to him.

"Finally he speaks." said Mario before folding his arms across his chest. Black Mask ignored him.

"Thorne, you say we should stop him now."

"Yes, before he too grows out of our control."

"Then you will take point on this endeavor then. You take whatever steps you deem necessary to stop him and anyone who wants to help is welcomed to help him."

"Black Mask com….." Mario started.

"Enough Falcone" Black Mask stated while whipping his head towards him "I'm tired of listening to all of this squabble. If you do not view Batman as a threat then fine don't worry about him…however, if he does come knocking at your door then I don't want to hear any of your bullsh** and that goes for everyone. Am I clear?" he asked.

"…"

"AM I CLEAR!" he shouted.

"Yes." They answered.

"Good, now if we're done here I have more pressing matters to attend to, if you want you can stay and talk amongst yourselves or enjoy my hotel, if not then see your way out."

stated Black Mask curtly as he made his way from the head of the table. He briskly headed for the double doors that would lead him out of the conference room.

* * *

**Outside the Hotel**

Perched on the roof and leaning down with two fingers pressed to the window of the conference room was Terry McGinnis aka **Batman**. Batman took his two fingers off of the window and he leaned down even further and looked into the room. He saw the one called Black Mask move away from the head of the table and make his way out of the of conference room.

"Hey Damian, have you heard enough?" he asked in a whisper.

"…_..McGinnis, what have I been telling you for the past month."_ Came the voice of Damian Wayne over the communication line.

Batman heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes.

"Have you heard enough…..**Prophet**."

"_I've heard plenty."_ Prophet replied.

"So do I bust in there now and arrest all of them?" Batman asked.

"_No. This is a reconnaissance mission McGinnis. We're just here to gather information on the who's who of Neo-Gotham's underworld, so we can plan accordingly." _

"So who are these guys? And who's that guy with the Mask" Batman asked.

"_That's Black Mask…obviously someone who has taken up the legacy of the original." _

"How do you know that's not the original?" Batman asked.

"_Because the original is dead….I know, I was there when it happened."_ Prophet answered.

"Of course." Batman scoffed, "What about the others?"

"_I'm running a facial recognition program and cross referencing the records with the NGCPD, it should be finished in a minute, but the only one I recognize off hand is Rupert Thorne." _

"Who is he?"

"_A mob Boss left over from my father's time…and from the sound of things he remembers my father very well. Which could either help or harm us in the long run." _

"How?"

"_He knows Batman and all of Batman's tricks so he'll be ready….you're going to have to be on your toes when you go up against him or anyone who allies with him. It could help us because he's expecting my father…..not you." _

"I can take him." Batman stated confidently.

"_I'm glad to hear that."_ Prophet replied dryly.

"So, Prophet, what's the next move?"

"_Gather more intel….we study each of them and their operations and then we come up with a plan on how to hit them hard, just like we used to do in the old days." _

Suddenly a bright light filled part of the sky. Batman looked up to see the Bat-Signal shinning brightly for all to see.

"_I'm picking up a call."_ said Prophet.

"Yeah I see the signal….what's the situation?"

"_Hold on, I'm patching us through to Barbara….." _

**KRCCHHHHH!**

"GODDAMN IT!"

**POW! BUDDDDAAAA BUDDDAA POW!** Came the loud sounds over the line.

"Commissioner Gordon what's going on?" Batman asked.

"We're pinned down over near the old Firehouse Annex Building in North Gotham. A botched Bank robbery gone wrong, we chased the robbers down but they were prepared and now the assholes are firing off armor piercing laser rounds. We're being ate up over here!" Commissioner Gordon shouted over the line.

"I'm on the way just hold on." said Batman ending the call.

"_Hurry McGinnis_. _I've hacked into some security feeds and Barbara won't last much longer against that type of weaponry_." said Prophet.

"I'm on the way."

Batman spread his wings and curled his feet; the rockets in the soles of his feet came to life and propelled him into the air.

* * *

**End Chapter: Read and Review:**** Hello all and again welcome to my new story. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and the seeds that I'm planting for the eventual Batman Beyond Volume 2. As I said earlier this story is meant to be a bridge between Volume 1 and Volume 2 which takes place 3 years after Volume 1. I think you could describe this story as a giant Interlude but this isn't an interlude that you could skip….well you could skip it but there seeds being planted that you might miss that will come up later. As you read in the Chapter Batman Returning to Gotham has caused some ripples in the underworld, by Volume 2 you'll see those ripples become waves that's going to rock Batman to the Core. There 4 Central Characters or Mob Bosses that are going to be prominent in this story and Volume 2: Black Mask (A new yet old character that I'm bringing to the table), Mario Falcone, Umberto Maroni and Olivia and Rupert Thorne. Also unlike all my other stories these chapters aren't going to be that long….I'm going to try to keep it short and sweet and give you readers the meat of what you need to know before going into the sequel that's coming soon. Hey, how did you readers like Damian Wayne's new nickname. I toyed around with a few names and I even thought about calling him Oracle as a nod to Barbara which would have made way for a few laughs down the line between the two of them but I decided on Prophet because I think that's something Damian would probably go with over Oracle…that is if he wasn't killed off by Grant Morrison in Batman Inc….however that's argument for a different day LOL! They always manage to kill off my favorite characters…first it was Spider-Man and now Damian….who will they think to kill off next….Dick, Mary Jane…..sorry I'm ranting LOL! Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter enough to return for the next part. If anyone has any questions for me, comments, rants or raves feel free to leave it in the review…pleas review, or just send me a PM and I'll get back to you ASAP, this is Nomad88 saying Later…..**

**Next up: Damian Wayne Revealed?**


	2. Damian Wayne Revealed?

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN theses CHARACTERS. I repeat I DO NOT OWN these CHARACTERS. In fact while we're on the subject ALL CREDIT goes directly to DC and the people who created these characters which isn't me once again. So, having said that Please Please DO NOT SUE ME. I still do not have any Money so suing me will be pointless. So now that we've gotten that out of the way it's onto the story. **

**Hello all and welcome back to another chapter in my Batman Beyond bridging story. I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter because we are diving head first right into the next chapter. I know that the first chapter was a bit short but again this **_**'story'**_** isn't really meant to have long and involved chapters. This **_**'story'**_** is meant to introduce a few characters, motivation and scenarios that will tie directly into Batman Beyond Volume 2. The first chapter saw the introduction of the Mob Bosses who will eventually cross paths with Batman in a big way but again I really won't get into it in depth until Vol 2 which is coming…eventually. LOL! Anyway that's enough of me talking let's get on with the story but before I go I would like to say Read, REVIEW (A Writer's main source of Motivation) and of course ENJOY!**

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**Chapter 2: Damian Wayne Revealed**

**Wayne Manor- 12:40pm- Two Months into Batman's Return**

Standing in the lavish and refurbished living room of Wayne Manor was Damian Wayne; and he was stoically looking at the large bronzed portrait of his father, the late, Bruce Wayne. The portrait however suddenly lurched forward and his stoic expression turned to one of frustration.

"Yinn, McGinnis….hold the damn thing still." Damian snapped while releasing a sigh.

A few feet away from Damian was Terry McGinnis and Yinn and they were holding said portrait of Bruce Wayne, or at least attempting to hold the bronzed monstrosity.

"Hey! This thing is heavy as hell." Terry snapped back in a strained voice," I wish you would make up your damn mind about where you want this thing."

"I'm inclined to agree Master Wayne." Yinn chimed in the same strained voice, "This portrait is quite…heavy."

"Both of you sound like women." Damian grumbled under his breath, "Alright fine…move it a little bit to the left."

Terry and Yinn huffed as they both moved a few steps to the left; the giant portrait of Bruce was now next to a portrait of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

"God it's just a picture…_ergh_…. pick a place already." Terry groaned in exertion.

"It's not a picture it's a portrait; there is a difference, have some class about you McGinnis. Now be quiet."

Damian shook his head and he continued to eye the position of the portrait with a critical eye until he noticed that the portrait of his father was a bit too close to his grandparents and he didn't like the way their smiling faces clashed with Bruce's serious expression, "You know what I think it was good where it was….go back to the right."

"Alright SCREW THIS!" Terry suddenly shouted, he grumbled loudly and then simultaneously he and Yinn set the heavy portrait down on the ground and leaned it against the wall.

"McGinnis what are you doing?" Damian asked in an annoyed tone.

"What's it look like; I'm taking a break." He said before folding his arms across his chest.

"Pick that portrait back up." Damian demanded.

"Nope."

"Goddamn it McGinnis…Yinn help me out here."

Yinn adjusted the black and silver Chinese vest he was wearing and he looked at Terry.

"A 30minute break does sound nice doesn't it Master McGinnis."

"That it does Yinn, come on let's see what's in the kitchen, and Yinn it's just Terry."

Yinn and Terry both swiftly turned and proceeded to make their way towards the Kitchen leaving a flabbergasted Damian Wayne in their wake.

"Not you too Yinn" he said but his words fell upon deaf ears, "FINE I DON"T NEED EITHER OF YOU! TAKE YOUR STUPID BREAK!"

* * *

Damian scoffed and let a sneer cross his lips, but his seething was interrupted when he saw Ace walk into view and then lay down in front of the portrait of his father. Ace let out a few whines and upon hearing it Damian walked over to him. He kneeled down and gently rubbed Ace on the head.

"It's true what they say boy….good help is so hard to find"

Ace let out another whine and kept his eyes staring forward, Damian noticed how sad Ace sounded and he followed the dog's gaze to the portrait.

"I….miss him too, I guess." he said softly as he continued to rub Ace's head. Damian stared at the portrait and he let his eyes hone in on Bruce's serious blue eyes. The intense stare upon Bruce's face was captured well because it was a stare that Damian knew all too well. It had been about two months since his father died and he had chosen to stay in Gotham and take the reigns of the Batman Legacy. Despite the fact that he wasn't the one wearing the cape and cowl and prowling the streets of Neo-Gotham City, the legacy was very much in his hands. Damian continued to stare at the portrait but he was soon brought out of his stare by Ace perking up. The black dog sat up and turned towards the door right as the door bell rang.

**DING! **

"YINN!" Damian shouted out, "THE DOOR!"

"HE'S ON BREAK, GET IT YOUR DAMN SELF!" came Terry's voice from the kitchen.

"I'm going to kill him….I just know it" Damian said to Ace in a deadpan voice.

**DING! DING! **

Damian grumbled to himself again as he stood up and made his way to the door but to his surprise Ace was walking with him.

* * *

Damian reached the front and he grasped the handle and he opened the door. When the doors opened Damian sucked in a breath and his eyes widen a bit because standing in the doorway was the young and beautiful reporter **Veronica Vale**.

'_Wow' _Damian thought to himself because this was the first time in a long while that he had been stunned by a woman's beauty. He let his eyes quickly roam over her 5'9 slim yet curvy build that was covered by a light green jacket, a white button down shirt and a tight black shirt, her long smooth legs, her straight medium length strawberry red hair, her olive tone skin complexion, thin lips that was lightly covered with a pink lipstick shade and finally her big beautiful green eyes.

* * *

While Damian was letting his eyes gloss over Veronica she was doing the same thing to him. She had seen him on TV briefly in the past two months and she had gotten several glances of him when trying to approach him when he was coming out of Wayne-Powers but this was her official first time seeing him up close and personal and it was an understatement to say that she was attracted to him.

'_Oh my God'_ she thought to herself as she looked at him. She let her green eyes roam over his 6'3 lean yet powerful build that was covered in a tailored thin black turtle neck shirt, and tailored grey pants. She then looked at his short slicked back dark hair that had a few gray hairs on the side but it only added to his appeal; her eyes then traveled to his bluish-grey eyes, fair skin tone and strong jaw.

* * *

Veronica noticed that she was staring a bit too hard and she quickly composed herself and cleared her throat a bit.

"Good Afternoon" she said.

Damian let a charming smile grace his lips as he stepped a bit further outside of the Mansion.

"Good afternoon indeed" he replied smoothly before holding out his hand "Hello, I'm….."

"Damian Wayne, I know." She replied while taking his hand and shaking it, "It's a pleasure to meet you….I'm Veronica Vale."

Damian brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it tenderly which only brought a smile to her lips.

"The pleasure is absolutely all mine Ms. Vale. Is there any relation to Vicki Vale, the legendary reporter?" he asked while reluctantly letting go of her baby soft hand.

"Yes. Vicki Vale is my Aunt." She answered.

* * *

Damian looked her over once again but this time it wasn't with a lustful eye but a critical one. He narrowed his eyes a bit and he could definitely make out a resemblance to Vicki in Veronica.

* * *

"Yes, I can see the family resemblance. Your family is blessed with very good genes."

"Well, we're not the only ones"

Damian and Veronica both let out a chuckle.

"So, Ms. Vale."

"Call me Veronica."

"Veronica. What do I owe for the pleasure of this visit?"

"An exclusive story. Your story…..Damian Wayne revealed, for all of Neo-Gotham to see."

"So you haven't just inherited your Aunt's good looks but her thrill for getting the story. You're a reporter aren't you?"

"I am."

"Well then Veronica I regrettably must inform you that I don't do exclusives, just like I've told all the other reporters."

"Why not?" she asked.

"Because I'm shy." He answered coyly.

"Somehow I doubt that." Veronica responded, "Please Mr. Wayne..."

"Call me Damian"

"Damian; all of Neo-Gotham is waiting to hear your story."

"I bet." He said dryly "I've already made the announcement as to who I am and I've hashed out the details with the investors and trustees at Wayne-Powers…which is soon to be Wayne Enterprises again and exclusively run by me and I've already talked to Derek Power's proxy…his son Paxton. So, the way I see it Veronica I've already revealed myself to those who matter."

Veronica tilted her head to the side a bit and pursed her lips together, she allowed his words to mull over in her mind a bit before she retorted.

"Interesting choice of words…"

"What?"

"You said that you revealed yourself to the ones that mattered, so what you're saying is that the rest of Neo-Gotham….doesn't matter. The same people who spend their lives making your family and company wealthy by buying and using your products in their daily lives. Are you talking about those same people because in my opinion they matter greatly." She said the smile on her face dropping a bit.

"…that's….that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" she asked.

Damian heaved a sigh and folded his arms across his chest.

"I simply mean that the people of Neo-Gotham have better things to worry about than me." He answered calmly.

"And that's where you're wrong Damian. The Wayne Family….Your father in particular has been the backbone of this city for decades; he has done countless things for the betterment of Gotham and…."

"I'm well aware of my father's contributions Veronica…no need for a history lesson." He interrupted.

"I wasn't planning on giving one…I'm just saying that the people deserve to know if Bruce Wayne's son, is a chip off of the old block."

Damian heaved a sigh and then tilted his head up to the sky.

"Can't they just take a leap of faith and assume I am."

Veronica let out a chuckle.

"Did you really believe that you can make an announcement like you being Bruce Wayne's son and then just quietly slip back into the background?"

"A man can hope can't he." He said while turning his gaze back to her.

* * *

Veronica looked at him and his handsome face before she looked over her shoulder and at the city of Neo-Gotham that was behind her. Since Wayne Manor was located on what could be considered the outskirts of town it gave her a nice view of the vast futuristic city in the distance. She looked at the towering and gothic like skyscrapers in the distance as well as a few noticeable flying cars.

"You know…there are some mummers floating about." She said while still looking at the city.

"Oh." said Damain "Please…do tell. What are the mummers saying?"

"They're saying that you're a con artist and a liar and that you murdered Bruce Wayne and you're trying to steal his legacy." She replied while turning back to him, but to her surprise there wasn't a look of disgust or shock upon his face but one of amusement. She continued to look on as a smile graced his lips followed by a laugh.

"Did I say something funny?" she asked with curiosity.

"It's just funny because if that's all that they are saying about me then I'm really in no rush to do any interviews." He replied in an amused tone.

"You don't care?"

"I have a thick skin Veronica….so no."

"What if the mummers are true?" she asked.

Damian looked at her and he raised an eyebrow. Veronica shifted in her spot and looked him dead in the face.

"Are you really Bruce Wayne's long lost son?"

"I don't know about long lost but yes….I am his son."

Veronica took a minute and she studied the features of his face searching for any sign of him to be lying but despite all of her training and skills she couldn't for the life of her tell if he was lying but even though she couldn't see, she could feel that his statement was true….maybe not the whole truth but true enough.

"I believe you." She said while biting her lip a bit.

"That's good to know" he said with a smile.

"But others won't though…especially considering there are a number of inconsistencies with you."

"Inconsistencies?" he repeated.

"After you first announced yourself at your father's funeral…..I as I'm sure like everyone else started to do research but…..but let's just say I have special access to certain files and before that Funeral a birth certificate for Damian Wayne didn't exist…..anywhere. It was as if it just appeared and made to look like it had been in the system."

Damian stared at her with a blank look upon her face. Veronica looked at the look on his face and she could feel that she had shocked him with that tid bit of information; she gave it a second to sink in before she started to again.

"And not only that your social security number had a previous owner before suddenly being given to yo…"

"Why are you telling me this?" Damian interrupted.

Veronica thought about his question for moment.

"I don't know, usually I would've exposed these inconsistencies but I just…..I just wanted to hear your side of things first, I wanted to hear your story because a good reporter covers all the bases."

Damian shifted in his spot again and she shifted in her's as well, the two of them stood in silence for a moment as her words continued to hang in the air. Damian for a second thought that she was trying to intimidate him with this information but he quickly threw that notion out of the window. He knew what intimidation felt like and she didn't give off the vibe of someone that was trying intimidate him, just a curious woman who's trying to solve a puzzle. Unfortunately the puzzle she was trying to put together was one he wasn't willing to have put together just yet.

"Well Veronica, I thank you for stopping by and trying to lend some friendly advice but….."

Veronica let a small smile grace her lips while she reached into the jacket she was wearing. She pulled out white card and she held it out to him.

"When you changer your mind I hope you give me a call." She said.

Damian took the business card and he briefly read it over.

"I'll give you a call Veronica, but it'll be about a first date, not my exclusive."

She smiled at him and started to turn.

"Either way, I'll be looking forward to our future conversations." She said, "Oh. And one last thing."

"Yes."

"If I managed to find those inconsistencies…..then others aren't too far behind. If I were you I'd get my story out there before someone who's not as willing to be a good reporter as I am post their finding. Good-bye Damian."

Damian watched as Veronica Vale turned and started down the winding path that led away from Wayne Manor. The smile that was on his face dropped as she moved farther and farther away. He replayed the conversation over in his mind and he could help let out a frustrated sigh.

"F***" he grumbled to himself.

Damian turned around and walked back into the Mansion.

* * *

**Inside **

Damian closed the door and he leaned against it for a second still thinking about the woman that just left; suddenly he heard someone release a sigh. Damian turned to the left and he saw Yinn looking out of the window.

"How long have you been there?" Damian demanded.

"Long enough to know that whatever is going through your mind about that woman is probably not a good idea….especially considering Ms. Rose is coming."

At the mention of Rose Damian closed his eyes tightly and tilted his head up so he was staring at the ceiling.

"F****!" he shouted.

Yinn could only chuckle.

"I didn't forget about Rose coming…..it's just that with her here I'm going to have to get Waller to forge her some documents as well. No, No screw Waller, I'll have to do this myself. The woman that just left….her name is Veronica Vale and she just informed me that there are some inconsistencies with my birth certificates and social security numbers and all that other nonsense."

"I thought you had Ms. Amanda Waller take care of that."

"Obviously she botched the job, damn her and her old age. So now I have to worry about Veronica sniffing around plus any other reporter that comes knocking."

"You could always ask them out a date…it seems to have worked on Ms. Vale." said Yinn. Damian gave him a glare.

"Could this day get any worse?" he asked.

Just then Terry walked in with half a sandwich in his hands and his mouth full of food.

* * *

"So, who was…. that…. at the door?"Terry asked between bites.

Damian turned to him and gave him a hard stare.

"McGINNIS USE A GODDAMN PLATE! YOU'RE DROPPING CRUMBS ON AN 10 THOUSAND CREDIT CARPET!" Damian snapped before stomping forward and towards the old grandfather clock.

He opened the clock and he pulled down on the hanging gold lever inside and the grandfather clock slid back and revealed the entrance to the bat-cave. Damian made his way down the steps all the while mumbling and grumbling to himself.

* * *

"Jeez….what crawled up his ass?" Terry asked while looking at Yinn who was still chuckling to himself.

"Let's just say that things are going to get a lot more interesting around here Master McGinnis." Yinn replied in an amused tone while walking towards the entrance of the Bat-Cave.

Terry looked at him as he disappeared down the winding steps; he then shrugged his shoulders before turning and going back into the kitchen to finish his meal.

* * *

Ace watched as everyone left the living room leaving him all alone. The black dog turned its head towards the forgotten portrait of Bruce and he slowly made his way back over to it; he tilted his head up and looked at his master and he let out another sad whine. Ace walked around in a circle for a moment before lying back down in front of the portrait and staring at his former owner with sad eyes.

* * *

**End chapter: Read and Review: ****Hey readers it's me Nomad88 back again with the closing comments. I hope everyone is enjoying the story or interludes rather, and I hope what I was saying before is starting to make sense and now you all can kinda see what I'm gonna bring to the table in Volume 2. This whole bridging story is all about setting up the action for the sequel while at the same time offering up a little more insight to a few characters….which is gonna happen within the next few chapters. So stay tuned I might be dedicating a chapter to your favorite character LOL! Anyway my loyal readers again I thank you for sticking with me as I do this bridging story and I really hope that none of you will be disappointed. If any of you have any questions for me or comments please leave it in the review or just send me a PM and I'll get back to you ASAP. This is Nomad88 saying Later….**

**Next Up: I Married Batgirl**


	3. I Married Batgirl

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN theses CHARACTERS. I repeat I DO NOT OWN these CHARACTERS. In fact while we're on the subject ALL CREDIT goes directly to DC and the people who created these characters which isn't me once again. So, having said that Please Please DO NOT SUE ME. I still do not have any Money so suing me will be pointless. So now that we've gotten that out of the way it's onto the story. **

**Hello again my loyal readers I'm back with an all new that's right all new chapter in the Batman Beyond Universe. I hope everyone has been enjoying the ideas and things that I'm bringing forth and I hope you enjoyed it enough to dive head first into this chapter. Again I know the length of these….snippets are rather sort but I'm trading in short chapters for more story and so I hope it's working and keeping all of you interested. Anyway my readers I know you all don't want me talking for too long but as usual before I go I would like to say please keep Reading, REVIEWING ( A writer's main source of motivation) and of course Enjoying the story…**

* * *

**Chapter 3: I Married Batgirl**

**Years Ago- Barbara Gordon- 34- NGCPD- Interrogation Room**

"Charles _'Chuckie'_ Walker" came the slow and deliberate voice of the recently promoted Detective, Barbara Gordon. She was in plain clothes and she was staring intently at the man across from her.

Chuckie Walker was a burly looking man in his late thirties; he was wearing a white wife beater, which showed his muscles and the tattoos that adorned said muscles, he had on beige pants and black boots. He was sporting several cuts and bruises across his face as well as an angry scowl, and the scowl was directed towards Barbara.

"Bitch" Chuckie growled before spitting the blood that was pooled in his mouth on the metal table he was handcuffed to; he cracked his neck and snarled at her.

Barbara glanced at the blood on the table and then back to Chuckie.

"Do you want me to hurt you again?" she asked with a slight edge in her voice.

"Go ahead. Soon as my lawyer gets here he'll charge your sweet ass with police brutality."

"Please, you pulled a gun and I had to put you down hard."

"Good luck finding anyone to testify to that. You were in my neighborhood. No one is gonna testify against me."

"And that's Because you're going to confess everything to me right now. I know it was you that murdered Samantha Epstein."

"You don't know shit sweet cheeks."

"We have your DNA."

"If that were true sweet cheeks you and I wouldn't be talkin right now. You'd send your new prosecutor in here." Chuckie chuckled before turning to the one way mirror "WHOEVER THE NEW PROSECUTOR IS….JUST SO YOU KNOW THE LAST ONE DIED A HORRIBLE DEATH! HAHAHAHA" he laughed before turning back to Barbara who had a scowl on her face "At least that's what I heard on the grapevine" he added.

"Samantha was my friend." Barbara said in a low voice, with her lip quivering in anger a bit.

"So." Chuckie stated "Like I care about your friends sweet cheeks. You know the score…"he started before stopping, he leaned in a bit closer to her and looked into her eyes, "It's a war, and your friend was a casualty."

"….."

"Also…on the grapevine sweet cheeks. I heard that your friend…she squealed like a pig when she was getting ravished."

Barbara gritted her teeth tightly and she balled up her fist.

"Each thrust….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Barbara balled her fist up and her eye twitched as she heard him laughing, and as he was laughing and she was looking at him Chuckie suddenly changed into an image of the Joker laughing. Barbara's eyes widen in shock and it was then that she lost it.

"RAHHHHHHHH!" Barbara yelled standing up in anger and kicking her chair back, She lunged across the table and landed a hard punch across his face. The punch rattled him to the core and knocked him out of his seat and onto the ground. She raised her fist and delivered another punch and then another. She was a woman possessed. She could still hear the Joker laughing hysterically.

"YOU THINK DEATH IS FUNNY!" She roared delivering another punch "IT'S NOT FUNNY YOU SONUVA BITCH!" she continued to roar while delivering blow after blow. Barbara was so focused on beating the man beneath her that she didn't even hear the door to the interrogation room open but she did hear the shout.

"DETECTIVE!"

Barbara stopped herself in mid-strike and whipped to the door to see who shouted at her. She looked, and she saw a handsome dark-skinned man at the door and she gave him a hard stare but he stared back with hard stare of his own.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

"Uf….ffff…t-told…you….m-my lawyer was…c-coming." Chuckie gurgled out. Barbara turned back to him but she didn't see the Joker but the bloodied and battered Chuckie Walker. She took several deep breaths and she stood up. She looked at the blood on her hands and quickly whipped it away on her pants and turned back to the man at the door.

"You're his lawyer?" she asked.

"No." The man at the door answered while walking in and closing the door behind himself, he walked towards Barbara and he looked her in her eyes, "I'm your new prosecutor. My name is Sam Young." He said holding out his hand.

Barbara took in a few deep breaths and looked at his hand, however she did not shake his hand. She raised her head up to look at him again.

"Barbara Gordon."

"I Know." Said Sam lowering his hand "Samantha was a friend of mine as well. And she's told me about you. I was out of town when she was murdered, but I'm here now."

"I was too late to save her….but this is the asshole that did it..." Barbara trailed off before pushing past Sam and heading out of the interrogation room. Sam followed her with his eyes as she quickly stormed away.

'_So that was her…..the famous Barbara Gordon" _Sam said in his mind,_ "You said it Samantha, she's definitely something' _

* * *

**Present- Young Household- Saturday- 2:00 am- Two Months into Batman's Return**

The eyes of Mayor Sam Young slowly opened and they focused in on the empty beside next to him that was illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the shallow curtains. The mayor released a sigh and placed his left hand on the bedside and he felt around.

'_Cold'_ he thought to himself knowingly. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and he rubbed his eyes allowing them to become adjusted to the dimly lit room. Once they were adjusted Sam tossed the covers off of his body and he swung his legs over the side of the bed and he ran a hand through his hair.

"HA!" came a loud shout.

Sam raised his head when he heard the shout followed by several muffled thuds. He narrowed his eyes a bit and he looked around the room that he shared with his wife Barbara Gordon-Young and his eyes landed upon her badge and gun that was on the nightstand.

"KEE-YA!" came another loud shout.

Sam saw her badge and gun and he let a small smile grace his lips.

"She's home. Finally; she and I will have a chance to talk properly" he said to himself as he stood from the bed. He grabbed his robe that was hanging on the back of the bathroom door and then he swiftly made his way out of his room and to his wife's location which was the garage.

* * *

**Garage**

"HE-YA!" Barbara shouted as she jumped and delivered a solid knee to the heavy bag that was in front of her. The strength behind the attack made the bag swing back and forth. The aged but still agile fighter landed gracefully and she turned and delivered a powerful roundhouse that made the bag swing back and forth even harder. Since her tussle with her _'sister'_ and old friend Helena Bertinelli aka **the Huntress** two months ago Barbara had learned that her skills are solely lacking. She remembered how they fought but in the end she had lost to Helena and she had come close to being paralyzed once again. Barbara swiftly spun around and delivered a spinning back-kick to the heavy bag; her mind kept going over that night and she remember the powerful shot to her back and how for a moment she had lost feeling in her legs, fear; cold hard fear gripped her for that entire moment. Thank-fully though the moment didn't last long and the feeling in her legs returned but unfortunately Helena…escaped. She escaped and Barbara had no doubt in her mind that she would return to finish their fight.

"HA!" Barbara yelled as she hopped forward and delivered and straight punch to the heavy bag_, 'I'll be ready for you next time Helena._' She thought as she got ready to deliver another blow to the swinging bag but before she could her ears picked up the sound of the garage door opening.

Barbara stopped in mid-attack and turned to the open door to see her husband Mayor Sam Young step into the garage.

* * *

Upon seeing him she straightened up and grabbed the swinging back and made it stop.

"I didn't wake you did I?" she asked.

Sam shook his head signaling to her that she didn't wake him up from his sleep. Sam closed the door and then he leaned against it and just looked at her. Barbara stared back at him and soon the husband and wife fell into silence.

Barbara was breathing heavily and studying Sam's face; they had been married long enough for her to know that something was on his mind but unlike the times before she didn't have to guess, she already knew. She slowed her breathing and began to undo the workout gloves on her hands.

Sam just continued to look at her. Barbara continued to look at him as well before she suddenly turned away from him and tossed her gloves to the ground.

"So are you going to start or do you want me?" she asked.

"…"

Barbara heaved a sigh and put her hands on her on her hips.

"Sam"

"…"

"Sam….say something please, you know I hate it when you do the silent thing."

"I Married Batgirl" he stated, effectively breaking his silence, "How's that for saying something."

Barbara bit her bottom lip and tilted her head upwards. After Bruce's funeral two months ago she and Sam had a talk, and that was the night where she disclosed a few secrets that she had been keeping from him for years. The first of those secrets was of the relationship between her and Bruce, she of course left out a few details and only told him the bare minimum but at least he now knew that there was a relationship between them…something that she wasn't going to tell him but with Bruce dying she figured that there wouldn't be any harm in disclosing that to him. To his credit though Sam took the news in stride and assured her that her past is the past and has no bearing on their future however; the second secret she told him…was a bit more complicated. She had revealed to him her involvement in the cape and cowl business in her younger years and upon learning that secret….Sam hadn't taken it as well as the first secret.

After the big reveal they hadn't had a chance to talk about it in depth because not long after she had an emergency call and had to stay out all night. And in the days after with her working long night hours and he working long days their schedules haven't been able to line up….that is until now.

Barbara lowered her head and looked at the ground.

"Are you upset about it?" she asked

"…Yes, No…..maybe…..I don't know." Sam responded truthfully "It's all I have been thinking about since you told me and…and I want to say that I'm not upset about your past career because….it's just that, your past. However I am upset about that you've kept something like this from me for so long. I thought I was your husband."

"You are." Barbara replied while turning around.

"Well Barbara this is the sort of thing you tell your husband." He stated seriously "Were you even planning on telling me?"

"Yes" she answered

Sam lowered his head a bit and he gave her a look; Barbara put a hand to her head and she released another sigh.

"No, alright. I wasn't going to tell you, I was planning on taking this secret to my grave but…."

"But something changed." He finished, "What was it?"

"….Bruce's death. He died and….I don't know"

Sam shook his head a bit and looked away.

"Did he know?" Sam suddenly asked.

"Did he know what?"

"That you were BatGirl"

"Yes…..it's kinda how we met." She answered, "He supplied Batman with money and gadgets and…it just happened."

Sam heaved a breath and folded his arms across his chest. Barbara ventured towards him because she could see that he was still visibly upset.

"Sam, I hope you don't think this is some kind of competition between the two of you because…."

"Of course I don't think that Barbara." He said quickly with a slightly shocked look.

"Then I'm not sure why you're so upset."

"It's because you didn't tell me that I was marrying…excuse married Batgirl."

"But you didn't…..you married Barbara Gordon. By the time you and I met I hadn't been Batgirl for 4years. And didn't you say that the past is the past."

"I was talking about relationships…..not something like this."

"So you don't love me anymore."

"Barbara stop alright, you know that I will always love you no matter what."

"Then let's just stop talking about this okay. Yes, I was Batgirl but it's a thing of the past….the past, it doesn't affect our future."

"Are you sure…because correct me if I'm wrong but…Batman has returned has he not."

At the mention of Batman returning Barbara closed her mouth and rubbed the back of her neck.

"Yeah, yeah he's back." She said, "But so what."

"Do you know who he is?" Sam asked.

"….."

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Does it matter if I do?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because if you know this person then what's to stop you from feeling the need to be Batgirl again?" he asked.

"What?" went Barbara in confusion.

* * *

Sam stepped away from her and he ran a hand down his face, and as he did that Barbara still a bit confused by what he was trying to say continue to look at him. Sam took a moment to compose his himself before turning back to face her.

"Barbara…..I'm a bit hurt that you've kept something like from me for all these years compounded upon the fact that you had no intentions of telling me…considering the fact that I've told you everything about me. It's kinda like you're saying you don't trust me…"

"I do trust you Sam it's just…"

"Barbara…..I'll get over it. I'm a big boy, but the feeling, a sneaking feeling that I have and I can't shake is that you haven't gotten over Batgirl, she not fully in the past. When you revealed your secret to me….I spent the next couple of days doing some research on you….on Batgirl rather and Batman and all the other things Bat related and….."

"And what?" she asked.

"And from the videos, recordings and newspaper articles that I've read you all did some extraordinary things but the death and the destruction that followed with these…what did they call it….Super-Villains. I already worry enough with you being a cop, and I don't want to worry about you getting sucked into that world again out of some obligation to your former life. To uphold some legacy or something like that."

Barbara looked at her husband and let his words run through her mind, and in a sense she could understand where he was coming from. He was worried that at some point down the line she would feel the need to be Batgirl once again; that she hadn't gotten it out of her system. Barbara pursed her lips into a thin line and she slowly walked over to her husband and she wrapped her arms around him and stared into his eyes.

"I want you to listen to me…and hear my words. Batgirl is gone. She's buried so deep that I wouldn't be able to find her if I tried; the events that lead to me giving up the cape, the cowl and the gadgets saw to that….trust me. I'm over that part of my life; all that I am now is Commissioner Barbara Gordon-Young. An officer of the law that keeps the peace…not a vigilante that goes looking for trouble."

Sam stared back into her eyes and he could see that she was telling the truth about her vigilante life-style being over but there was still a nagging voice in the back of his mind that said she was still keeping something from him.

"I believe you."

"Good."

"Are there anymore secrets that you've been keeping from me?" he asked suddenly, catching Barbara slightly off guard. She looked at him and then slowly shook her head.

"No, there are no more secrets. I told you that you and I would have a long talk and I…we didn't and I'm sorry. I thought I was ready but I wasn't but now I am…so ask me anything."

"Why did you and Bruce Wayne break up?" he asked, "Was it because of you being Batgirl?"

"No, it wasn't because of that. Bruce and I didn't work because…at the time he and I were together I thought he was what I wanted but, it quickly dawned on me that he wasn't what I needed. And so that was that."

"Why did you become Batgirl in the first place?"

Barbara heaved a sigh and lowered her head down onto Sam's chest.

"That's a complicated question dear." She said.

"Then make it simple dear." Sam responded.

Barbara heaved another sigh.

"Standing for justice is in my blood. My hero will always be my father, James Gordon and ever since I was a little girl I've always wanted to be like him and…..stand for something, for what's right and make a difference just as he did. I started to learn everything about being an officer and I even had plans to join the force after high school but….all of that changed one day."

"What happened?" Sam asked curiously as he lowered his head down so his left cheek was resting comfortably on her head.

"I saw him." She stated with a far-away look in her eyes.

* * *

**Flashback- Years ago- Barbara Gordon- 12years old- Gordon Household- 9:45pm**

A very young Barbara Gordon was sitting at her desk reading a newspaper article on her computer. She was so enthralled in the article because it had her father's picture plastered on the front.

"Detective Jim Gordon testified today in open court against criminal and serial killer Victor Zsasz for his crimes of murdering 30 individuals in the greater Gotham area. The Detective testified that Zsasz is a deranged murder that should be put behind bars for the rest of his life. Despite the Detective's vehement testimony against the killer his request went unheard as the jury found Zsasz not guilty by reasons of insanity. The serial killer will be transported to Arkham Asylum later on today." She read off of the screen.

Barbara leaned back in her seat and released a sigh.

"I know dad must've been pissed."

"I was" came a voice.

Barbara jumped at the voice and she whipped around in her seat to see her father Commissioner James _'Jim'_ Gordon leaning against her door frame.

"Dad you scared the hell out of me." She gasped.

"Barbara what have I told you about cursing?"

"Hell isn't a curse word Dad." She replied with a smirk on her face, "Hey did the jury really find this guy innocent?"

"They did." He answered

"How could they do that, he's guilty and he should be behind bars not in some nut house."

"One of the drawbacks of the system dear, his lawyer managed to convince that he is a mentally unstable man."

"Is he?" Barbara asked.

"No, he's not truly mentally unstable. He's just a deranged psychopath, but he played the system and he won this time."

Barbara looked at her father and the angry look in his eyes before turning back to the computer screen.

"Well the system is wrong" she said under her breath.

Jim looked at his daughter and then straightened up a bit.

"You shouldn't be concerning yourself with such things Barb; you're a young lady you need to be focusing on things that girls your age focus on."

"Like what?" Barbara asked still staring at the screen.

"I don't know….sleepovers, make-up and….and…." he started and then stopped before putting a hand on his neck and releasing a sigh "Boys."

Barbara chuckled and glanced at him through the corner of her eyes.

"I wasn't invited to Michelle's sleepover, I don't need make-up because I look good without it and Mike, the boy I like asked out the girl I hate so….no boys."

"Thank God" Jim said which earned a look from Barbara.

ZZZZCH! Went the sound of all the lights in the house suddenly going out.

"What's happening?" Barbara asked quickly.

"Calm down, Calm down….we probably just blew a fuse." Came her father's response through the blackness.

Jim fiddled in his pockets for a second and he pulled out a flashlight and turned it on and cutting through the darkness.

"Come on, let's go to the basement."

Barbara quickly got up from her seat and steadily made her way over to her father.

* * *

The father and daughter ventured down the steps and into their basement where he quickly found the fuse box and changed the blown fuse. The lights within the house flashed back on and relief washed over both of them.

"See, nothing to be afraid of." He said while turning off his flashlight. The two turned and proceeded to go up the steps.

* * *

**Kitchen**

Jim and Barbara stepped into the kitchen but upon entering the kitchen they both saw that the back door to the kitchen had been opened. At the sight of the open door Jim froze up and reached for his hip but to his dismay his gun wasn't there.

"Damn it!" he cursed.

"Dad?" Barbara questioned.

"Everything is fine baby just don't pani….." he started but stopped when he felt a gun pressed to the side of his head. Jim slowly turned to the left to see the deranged villain Victor Zsasz staring back at him. He was 6'0, bald head that was full of scars, blue eyes, tan skin and an evil smile. He was shirtless showing off his skinny build but what drew attention were the scars all over his body. Small tic marks that represented all of the people he had killed.

"No, she really should panic" Zsasz stated gleefully.

"You sonuva.." Jim started before Zsasz reared back and smacked him across the face with the gun.

"DAD!" Barbara exclaimed as she saw her father fall to the ground. She stepped towards him but it was then that she felt Zsasz grab her by the arm and pull her towards him. He wrapped one arm around her throat and put the gun to her head with the other hand.

"Lookie what I got here….your daughter Gordon."

"LET HER GO YOU CRAZY SONUVA BITCH!" Jim yelled quickly rising to his feet.

"Crazy….you of all people should know I'm not crazy. Sociopathic maybe...but not crazy."

"How did you escape!?"

"Please, the transport security to Arkham is a joke...HAHA! I told you I was gonna get you Gordon, and I was serious about that." He said with a hard stare in his eyes.

"If you kill us they'll be after you." Detective Gordon threw out quickly.

"And I'll just have my lawyer convince the idiots on the jury again that I'm mentally unstable and I'll be out to murder and cause mayhem once again, come on Gordon you know how the system works. It was built so guys like me can run around freely HAHA!"

"You twisted…" Jim started while taking a step forward.

"Uh-Uh" Zsasz warned by pressing the gun to Barbara's head a little bit harder which caused him to stop.

"DAD!" Barbara yelled.

"Shhh…little girl you won't feel a thing. Guns usually aren't my forte but for your father I'll make an exception."

**CRASHHHHHHHH!**

* * *

Everyone heard the sound and turned to see the kitchen window broken and a figure rising up. The figure was none other than the caped crusader himself….**Batman;** complete with his intimidating 6'3 stature, flowing cape, armor, yellow bat insignia on his chest and serious narrowed eyes.

"WHAT THE F***!" Zsasz yelled at the sight of him fear evident in his voice.

"DROP THE GUN!" Batman growled.

Zsasz turned the gun upon Batman but a flash from the Dark Knight and a batarang knocked the gun from his hand.

"AH!" Zsasz gasped in pain.

Batman closed the distance and landed a solid blow to Zsasz face, the punch was a body rattling blow that made the killer release his hold upon Barbara and go flying back and to the ground. Batman walked towards the downed killer and towered over him. Zsasz looked up at him and stared in absolute fear.

"Who….Who are you?"

"…I'm Batman." He stated before raising his fist and bringing it down upon his face knocking him out cold.

* * *

Batman turned around to see both Jim and Barbara staring at him in shock.

"Detective Gordon, we meet again." He said

"Batman huh?"

Batman nodded his head.

"Are you two alright" he asked letting his eyes roam over Jim Gordon and then Barbara. When he looked at Barbara his eyes lingered for a second.

Barbara stared back at him with a look of awe. Her eyes took in everything but she lingered on the yellow bat emblem on his chest.

"We're fine." Jim answered.

"I've already alerted the police so they should be here within the next few minutes. And here…."

Batman reached towards his yellow utility belt and he pulled out a small silver device and he tossed it to Jim who deftly caught it.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Push the button." Batman stated before turning slightly, "He won't beat the system again."

Jim pushed the single button on the device and he and Barbara looked down at it.

* * *

**KRCHHHSSS!** _""If you kill us they'll be after you." _

"_And I'll just have my lawyer convince the idiots on the jury that I'm mentally unstable again and I'll be out to murder and cause mayhem;, come on Gordon you know how the system works. It was built so guys like me can run around freely HAHA!" _

* * *

Jim and Barbara looked up but Batman was gone.

* * *

**Present- Young Household- Garage**

"Zsasz was arrested and tried only this time he didn't walk away. He was sent to Blackgate Prison. After that though…I was changed, he changed things for me forever. From that moment on I knew….I knew what I wanted to be and it wasn't a cop. I knew how I wanted to do good and fight for justice."

"Thus was the birth of Batgirl." Said Sam moving his head back and then looked down at her.

Barbara looked up at him and nodded her head.

"I started to study Batman, his movements, his patterns…. everything. I started taking martial arts and I got into technology more….and….and my whole life changed."

Sam continued to look at her.

"But that part of your life is over."

"Over and done with." She responded.

Sam let out a sigh and he looked away from her.

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Over-reacting."

"You don't have to apologize. I…I should have told you this years ago, it's just that I couldn't bring myself to relive the past. I didn't want to; I just wanted to focus on my future. I wanted to focus on my career as an officer of the law and my family."

"I understand, really I do but Barbara from this point on we can't have any secrets. I have never kept any kind of secret from you and I never intend to, because secrets can kill a relationship…even one as strong as ours."

"You're right and I should know that because I worked along side the king of secrets." She replied lowly "Can you forgive me?"

"I forgave you 10 minutes ago."

Barbara smiled at him and he smiled back at her. The husband and wife leaned closer and then they captured each other's lips in a kiss. The kiss lasted for a long minute before Sam pulled away and began to chuckle.

"What?" Barbara asked with raised eyebrows.

"I just can't believe that I Married Batgirl."

Barbara hung her head and scoffed but a smile was on her face.

"Shut up." She said playfully.

Sam continued to chuckle as he wrapped an arm around her, Barbara wrapped her right arm around him and the couple proceeded towards the door that would lead them back into their house.

* * *

**End Chapter: Read and Review****- Hey all, that's the end of the third chapter, I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. HAHA! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far and have a better idea of what this bridging story is all about, creating plot points and scenarios that are going to come into play in the highly anticipated sequel Batman Beyond Volume 2. Will Barbara be able to keep her promise to Sam and stay out of the costumed business and never to keep a secret from him. You'll have to keep reading to find out HAHA! Again I hope the enjoyment of this story is through the roof and if it's not just let me know through either the review or through a PM message. Just let me know and I'll get back to you ASAP, this is Nomad88 saying later…..**

**Ps: YES I'M ALIVE! ALIVE I SAY! ALIVE! I know I haven't updated in a while but my life has been flipped and turned upside down. But I'm starting to get readjusted a bit hence the update. Hopefully all of you are still interested in the story. Another update is coming soon just please stick with me. If you have any questions leave it in the review or leave it in the PM and I'll get back to you ASAP. This is me saying later**

**Next up: Paxton Powers Man of the Hour**


	4. Paxton Powers Man of the Hour

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN theses CHARACTERS. I repeat I DO NOT OWN these CHARACTERS. In fact while we're on the subject ALL CREDIT goes directly to DC and the people who created these characters which isn't me once again. So, having said that Please Please DO NOT SUE ME. I still do not have any Money so suing me will be pointless. So now that we've gotten that out of the way it's onto the story**

**Hello all it's me Nomad88 back again with another chapter. I know there was a bit of a long break there but the the break is over and my life…..my new life is back on track and so is my writing. Okay soap box moment over LOL! Let's get back to the story. Before I go though I would just like to say READ, REVIEW( A writer's main source of Motivation) and of course ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Paxton Powers man of the Hour**

**Wayne-Powers- Top Floor- 3 months into Batman's Return**

Paxton Powers, the son of Derek Powers, former CEO and operator of Wayne-Powers sat in the seat that was in front of the large oak desk. He sat there with a straight face and he stared at the smug smile that was on the face of the current CEO and operator of Wayne-Powers, Damian Wayne, the son of the late Bruce Wayne. On the outside Paxton was calm and collected just as his father taught him to be but on the inside he was seething. For the past three months he's had to deal with Damian calling the shots about how the company was going to move forward in the wake of Bruce's Wayne's death and his father's abrupt disappearance.

'_Son of a bitch'_ Paxton thought in his mind as he continued to stare at the smug smile.

"I know what you're thinking right now." Said Damian leaning forward in the seat and putting his hands on the desk.

"Do you now?" Paxton responded averting his gaze "What am I thinking?" he asked.

"That I'm a son of a bitch"

Paxton scoffed and turned his eyes back to Damian.

"Hmph….right on the money. I was thinking that and now here's me saying it….YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Damian shook his head and then stood up from his seat.

"Careful Paxton, I'm a bit sensitive when it comes to name calling."

"I don't give damn about your sensitivity." Paxton responded fiercely.

"Even if I'm your Boss." Damian retorted while walking around the desk and then leaning against it.

"You are not my boss."

"I am."

"You are not. The lawyers and still looking into your claims of being Bruce Wayne's son and…."

"And while they are doing that I'm still head of the company. Legally I might add seeing as I have most of the shares."

"My father is still head of the company and has the controlling majority shares and until he gets back I'm his proxy, so that makes me head of the company."

"It makes you a lapdog."

Paxton shot up from his seat and he gave Damian a hard glare.

"It….makes me CEO" he growled in anger.

"No, I'm CEO."

"You're nothing, but a nuisance…..just like your father, if he's even your father." said Paxton.

"He was my father."

"Hmph, we'll see." Paxton replied.

"And what do you mean by that?" Damian asked folding his arms across his chest.

"Let's just say I'm going to become an expert on Damian Wayne. Now if you'll excuse me I have another meeting to attend to."

Paxton glared at him and then swiftly turned and started for the door but he was stopped by Damian's voice.

"I know you know where your father is Paxton." Damian stated.

Paxton went stiff a bit and he turned his head slightly but again his face was calm and collected, he didn't give anything away.

"I don't know where he is."

"Do you really think that your father would go anywhere and leave his 'company' in the hands of his son?"

"….."

"You're father is too greedy for that."

"Shut up Wayne…you have no idea what you're talking about."

"Or maybe I do...and I've struck a nerve."

Paxton pursed his lips into a thin line and he resumed his walking.

* * *

**Lobby Floor-**

**DING! **Went the sound of the elevator; the doors opened and before they opened fully Paxton Powers squeezed his way out and continued to storm towards the exit.

_'Who does he think…ARGH!'_ he growled in his mind while he thought about the meeting he just had with his new nemesis Damian Wayne. He continued on his way ignoring the construction crew that was still rebuilding the lobby from the fight between Inque, Powers, and Batman. He was seething in too much anger to really notice anything. Paxton made a beeline right for the doors that would take him out of Wayne-Powers.

* * *

**Outside**

Paxton exited Wayne-Powers and he made his way to the limo that parked a few steps away. The door was already open and his driver was standing right next to the door with his head tilted down and his hat pulled real low.

Paxton saw him and before he got in the limo he stopped and turned to him.

"YOU! Get me back to my penthouse, now, got that. Don't stop for red lights or cops or anything. Not even Batman."

"Yes sir." Came the deep baritone reply from the driver.

Paxton scoffed and quickly got into the limo and the driver slammed the door shut.

* * *

**Inside the Limo**

Paxton grimaced a bit as his door was shut but, it was the least of his worries because inside the limo were three men in green outfits and they were on either side of an intimidating blonde Russian woman with crystal blue eyes that bored a hole into Paxton's soul. There was a long and jagged scar that went across her left eye socket and it only intensified the threat of her. Paxton looked at her and he saw that she was wearing a black and green outfit that was similar to the ones the men around her were wearing.

"Who are you?" Paxton asked.

"My name is Elicia" she replied in a thick accent.

"What do you want Elicia?" Paxton asked, putting on his best front despite the fact that he was scared out of his mind. The mere sound of her voice sent shivers down his spine.

"It is not what I want, but what my master, King Kobra wants. He wants to have a word with you."

"King Kobra?" Paxton replied in confusion "Why would he want to talk to me."

"It's about your father Derek Powers."

"Oh. And if I refuse to have a word with this King Kobra?" Paxton challenged while narrowing his eyes at Elicia.

* * *

Elicia smiled at him and with her armored left hand reached towards her right side and pulled a small but extremely sharp dagger from her holster and held it up to her face. She opened her mouth and licked the sharp blade.

"Please do, I've been itching to use my new toy for sometime now." She said slowly and deliberately, "And nothing brings me more joy than to cause a man pain, so please refuse."

Paxton swallowed hard again and curled his lips.

"Fine, I'll speak with him." He said.

"Good."

Elicia then knocked twice on the tinted mirror that separated the driver from the passengers.

* * *

The limo tore off down the street and into the distance.

* * *

**About an 1 hour Later- Location Unknown**

Paxton Powers was roughly shoved out of the limo and onto the dirt ground. He had a black bag over his head that completely obstructed his vision, so while he couldn't see where he was he knew from the gravel on the ground that he was well outside of Neo-Gotham City.

He heard footsteps on the gravel and he then felt himself being hoisted up by two strong men and dragged away.

"Mmmmmmm" Paxton mumbled, his mouth was gagged as well to keep from him talking, "MMMMMMMM!"

"Quiet Mr. Powers, now is no the time for talking just yet" came the Russian accented voice of Elicia.

Paxton heard the coldness of her voice and he decided to follow her instructions because right now she held his life in her very hands and he had no doubt that she would waste no time in ending if he didn't comply.

Paxton stopped his mumbling and he let the men drag him away.

* * *

**Few Minutes Later**

Paxton was shoved into a metal chair and the gag from his mouth was taken away and the black bag upon his face was ripped away. He averted his eyes because the first thing that he saw when the bag was removed was a very bright spotlight shinning directly into his eyes. He raised his hand in an attempt to shield himself.

"Ah…come on guys really, that's right in my eyes."

"Mr. Powers….or rather Paxton Powers, Mr is reserved for your father" came an unrecognizable voice.

Paxton lowered his hand and stared forward in the direction he heard the voice originating from; he still couldn't see anything too clearly but he managed to make out a shadow of some sort.

"Who are you?" Paxton asked ignoring the statement before "Are you King Kobra"

The spotlight dimmed a bit and the shadowy figure stepped forward but it was not King Kobra it was Elicia holding a screen that displayed the masked and intimidating leader of the Kobra organization King Kobra himself.

"How anti-climatic" Paxton grumbled "I get dragged all the way here just to meet with a screen"

"Watch your mouth Powers" Elicia snapped.

"It's quite alright Elicia; Paxton here has no idea whom he's dealing with so his disrespect is…expected. However Paxton I should warn you that I'm not in the best of moods so do not test my patience"

"HA!" Paxton laughed dryly, he thought he was about to meet King Kobra in person but he wasn't and so a bit of his courage was coming back to him "I hear your threat King Kobra but if you wanted to kill me you would've done it already, you obviously want me or need me for something"

"How perceptive of you Paxton, but you're forgetting something" King Kobra stated.

"What?"

"There are worst things than death" King Kobra replied with an edge in his voice "Tell me something have you ever felt the skin being peeled from your body. I can assure you that it's quite painful and you don't die from it….Elicia here is adept at it and if you want I can leave the two of you alone for a while."

"You don't need the skin on your feet Paxton" Elicia chimed with a sick grin on her face.

* * *

Paxton looked from the screen in Elicia's hands and then to the grin upon her face. He slowly swallowed a lump in his throat that had formed and then he turned his eyes back to the screen. He leaned forward in his chair a bit and he released a sigh.

"What do you want with me King Kobra?" Paxton asked slowly.

"Your Father" King Kobra stated.

"Good luck in finding him I don't know where he is." He lied.

"You're lying" Elicia growled.

"Am I?" Paxton replied in a bored tone, he was lying but Paxton was a pro at lying and so he wasn't worried about them calling him out on the lie.

"Are you lying to us Paxton?" King Kobra asked.

"No, I'm not, I haven't seen him. I do however get random calls from him every now and then with a set of instructions concerning the Company but I usually ignore it"

King Kobra let out a sigh and put a green armored hand to his chin and leaned back in his throne chair.

"Why do you want my father?" Paxton asked raising an eyebrow.

"Your father had an arrangement with us that he failed to deliver on"

"Oh, well I'm sorry about that, it tends to happen when dealing with my father."

"Then isn't it lucky that we have you now Paxton" Elicia chimed into the conversation again.

Paxton turned his attention to her and raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" he questioned, stunned by her statement.

"Why do you think we…..brought you here Paxton?"

Paxton had to only think about it for a split second until he put what they were alluding to together.

"No No No No listen King Kobra whatever arrangement you had with my father is between the two of you, leave me out of it" Paxton replied quickly.

"No" King Kobra stated seriously "The Sins of the Father becomes the Son's burden" he continued.

"What is that some sort of fortune cookie crap!" Paxton exclaimed "My father's sins are just that, HIS SINS! Not mine, so again leave me out of it"

"No" King Kobra replied again

"Goddamn it!"

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH POWERS!" Elicia roared.

Paxton looked at her and gritted his teeth.

"Your father promised me a sophisticated a nerve gas and I want it, so you will provide it for me." King Kobra commanded.

Paxton scrunched his eyes a bit before shaking his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe this…this was supposed to be my time…my hour but now not only do I have Wayne on my back I've got you guys now too. NERVE GAS! What you're asking me to get for you is impossible"

"Nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it Paxton. And you're wrong this is your hour…you are the man of the hour Paxton. You do this for us and you will be remembered in history as the catalyst for the new world order."

"It is impossible, King Kobra. My father promised you this nerve gas because he was running the company he was the CEO, so he had free reign. I'm not the CEO of Wayne-Powers, Damian Wayne is…so even if I were to agree to get you your nerve gas the production of it would have to be signed by him. So I think you have the wrong man."

"No we have the right man. As I said Paxton this is your hour." King Kobra replied.

"I can't do it…the only way for me to able to get the nerve gas were if I were to….I don't know ice Wayne"

King Kobra and Elicia remained silent and just continued to stare at Paxton, he looked back at them with curious eyes and he could see what they were expecting in their eyes.

"I can't" He said again.

"You can." King Kobra replied "I expect you to do anything necessary to get me my nerve gas"

"You're crazy" Paxton stated seriously while shaking his head.

"Elicia"

"Yes King Kobra" she responded.

"Take him away. I'll be in touch Paxton of that you can be sure"

Paxton opened his mouth to responded but Elicia nodded her head and the gag was quickly wrapped around his mouth effectively halting his comment and the black bag was shoved over his head obstructing his vision again. He suddenly felt the pain of something making contact with the back of his skull before darkness overtook him.

* * *

**Several Hours Later**

The eyes of Paxton Powers opened and the first thing he saw was a caramel colored roof, his head was still pounding but several flashes of memory caused him to forget the pain and shoot upwards. He found himself on his King sized bed and in his expensive penthouse apartment. He looked around and for a second and wanted to believe everything he just experienced was a dream but he turned to the left and there on the night-stand was the big bold statement of reality. Imbedded in the solid oak wood of the night-stand was Elicia's dagger. Paxton looked at the dagger and he swallowed hard.

"Sh**" he cursed while running a hand down his face.

* * *

**End Chapter: Read and Review:**** Hey readers it's me again Nomad88 back with the closing comment of the newest chapter to Batman Beyond Neo-Gotham Knights. I hope everyone is enjoying the chapters as they roll out and I know that this one was a bit short but like I said this story isn't supposed to have long chapters but short snippet chapters that set up some huge huge stuff for the epic that is Batman Beyond volume 2. As you saw in this chapter Paxton has his own problems to deal with first it was with Damian for swooping in and taking over Wayne Powers now he has to deal with Kobra because of Derek's failure's…..also there was a hint in this chapter….an old villian of the original Batman…that's gonna play a part in Paxton's story line. I think I might have said too much but can anyone guess at the villain that I'm alluding to. LOL! Anyway I hope you all enjoyed the chapter because I can assure you that more are coming your way and I'm not exactly done with Paxton just yet. There is another storyline with him that I'm working on but I'm not sure if I want to put it in this bridging story I think I might save it for vol 2 but I don't know I might change my mind. Read and especially Review because that's a writer's main source of motivation and then meet me back here for another chapter in the Batman Beyond universe. This is Me Nomad88 saying Later…**

**Ps: Another story of mine has been updated as well so don't forget to head on over and check it out. Cool. This me saying later…..**

**Next Up: The Life of Terry McGinnis aka Batman **


	5. The Life of Terry McGinnis aka Batman

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT in any form or fashion OWN theses CHARACTERS. I repeat I DO NOT OWN these CHARACTERS. In fact while we're on the subject ALL CREDIT goes directly to DC and the people who created these characters which isn't me once again. So, having said that Please Please DO NOT SUE ME. I still do not have any Money so suing me will be pointless. So now that we've gotten that out of the way it's onto the story. **

**Hey readers it's me Nomad88 back again with another chapter in the Batman Beyond Universe. I want to thank everyone who is taking the time out to read and review this…bridging tale as it were, I hope I'm creating enough mystery and intrigue that's sure to explode in the hotly anticipated sequel Batman Beyond Volume 2 which is coming soon. Anyway I'm sure all of you are tired of me talking and are eager to get to the story so before I leave I just want to say one last thing READ, REVIEW(A writer's main source of motivation) and of course ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Life of Terry McGinnis aka Batman**

**Monday- Wayne Manor- Bat-Cave**

"DEFEND YOURSELF MCGINNIS!" came the loud voice of Damian Wayne; he was dressed in a white Karate Gi with a black belt around his waist and a wooden staff in his hands.

Terry, who was wearing a similar outfit and wielding a similar staff sucked in a breath as he looked up to see Damian in the air and descending upon him with his wooden staff.

Terry dove to the side and out of the way just as Damian came down.

**SMACK!** Went the sound of the staff hitting the mat; Damian turned his head and eyed Terry.

"You're slow McGinnis"

"…excuse…..me…" Terry started, he was completely out of breath and struggling to stand on his feet "We've been at this for hours….I'm tired"

"YOU'RE BATMAN! YOU DON'T GET TO BE TIRED!" Damian roared while lifting his staff, twirling it, and then charging forward.

Terry heaved several breaths and swallowed as Damian came forward. The older warrior came in with a mid-ranged attack and the attack was barely blocked. Terry knocked the staff to the side but he left himself wide open for a palm strike to the chest. Terry stumbled back a few steps but as he stumbled he lashed out with his staff and tried to hit Damian but Damian ducked and rolled under the attack. He quickly stood up and he pivots while throwing out a powerful sidekick that nailed Terry on the right side of his torso. All the air exploded out of his lungs as he was lifted up off of his feet and sent flying back and tumbling across the ground.

"AH!" Terry managed to gasp out.

Damian relaxes and stands there just looking at Terry writhing on the ground in pain.

"Get up McGinnis I didn't even hit you that hard."

"FU…FU….." Terry started but stopped he couldn't form any words just yet; his body was still experiencing a vast amount of pain.

Damian let out a sigh and shook his head.

"…Breathe McGinnis…just breathe."

* * *

Terry closed his eyes while gritting his teeth; through his clenched teeth he sucked in some air. The pain slowly started to subside to the point where he could open his eyes and see the rocky roof of the batcave and a few bats flying overhead. His vision of the ceiling was interrupted by Damian Wayne walking to stand over him.

"Get up"

"I…really….hate you"

Damian stared down at him and then he let a smirk grace his lips.

"That's smartest thing you've said all day"

"I can't…beat you… is that what you want me to say" said Terry slowly "You've been kicking my ass all day okay….I got it…."

Damian scoffed and put a hand to his eyes and rubbed them tiredly.

"Of course you can't beat me McGinnis" Damian replied in an exasperated tone "I have over 30 years of experience and knowledge versus your what 3 months of training from an 80 year old man. What we're doing here is not about beating me that's not what I'm training you to do right now"

"Then...what are you doing?" Terry asked while rolling over to his stomach.

"I'm getting your body ready for the Life of Batman" Damian replied.

Terry looked up at him and narrowed his eyes for a second. Damian squatted down so he was able to stare directing into Terry's eyes.

"I've read my father's files on you McGinnis. He trained you as best as he could… but he did it out of order, which is understandable considering the circumstances. But since he's gone and I am here I'm going to teach you the proper way."

"Proper way" Terry repeated.

"Yes, the proper way McGinnis. Right now, your body is flabby and weak….easily broken. I'm here to toughen you up. I'm going to break your body and remold it into the body of Batman. Your body will be tested constantly and you have to be ready or you will die."

"That's nice of you" Terry respond in a strain voice while pushing himself up until he was on all fours, "But I think I'll pass. The bat-suit will protect…."

"The bat-suit is an extension of the body McGinnis; it can't protect you from everything. You have to be tough already for it to…."

"I am tough" Terry interrupted, "Ufff…" he grunted.

"Clearly." Damian responded sarcastically while standing up, "If I were you I'd get used to that feeling of pain". He turned away from Terry and he looked across the way and at the cases that held the bat-suits. Damian stared at each of the bat-suits for a moment before slowly glancing over his shoulder and at Terry who was rising to his feet.

"We have much work to do McGinnis. Not only does your body need work but your mind and spirit"

"My mind and spirit are just fine. Bruce said that…." Terry started but he was interrupted by Damian turning around and giving him a hard glare.

"Bruce said that you have the potential….and do trust that you're far far away from your true potential. You may wear the suit and carry the name but you aren't truly Batman yet. You think you can wake up one morning and call yourself Batman…it doesn't work like that. It took my father a decade to discover Batman...to understand Batman"

"…..how long did it take you?" Terry asked.

Damian's eyes widen for a split second before they returned to his normal hard glare. He heaved a sigh and then folded his arms across his chest.

"It took me about the same to really understand Batman" Damian replied, but he lowered his head after a second "However once I understood…..it took me all of 2 minutes to realize I could never be Batman"

"Is that why you created the Gray Ghost?" Terry asked.

Damian lifted his head and stared off into space for a long second, he stood there staring off at nothing in particular before he turned back to Terry with a scowl upon his face.

"IS THIS THERAPY OR IS THIS TRAINING!" he suddenly shouted, "BREAK TIME IS OVER, TIME TO DEFEND YOURSELF MCGINNIS…RA…." Damian started before he was interrupted by a voice.

"MASTER WAYNE!"

* * *

Damian stopped in mid-yell and he slowly turned around to face his approaching partner/assistant/butler Yinn.

Yinn briskly walked over to the two of them and when he reached them he looked at both of them with a serious look upon his face.

"What is it Yinn?" Damian asked.

"I have something to show the both of you" He replied, he reached into his pocket and he retrieved a folded up greeting card. Yinn unfolded the greeting card and he handed it to Damian who took it from him. He looked at it for a second and read what was written on the front before looking within.

"What does it say?" Terry asked as he walked over to them.

Damian handed the greeting-card to him and then looked at Yinn.

"Welcome to Neo-Gotham City" Terry read out loud on the front of the card, he then opened the card and he read the single word written within, "Who?"

"Why are you so spooked Yinn? It looks like you might have a secret admirer" Terry joked.

"No, Master McGinnis. I was at the market place and while I was there I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched and so I left, but once I returned to the car I found that in there waiting for me."

Damian looked at the card and then he put a hand to his chin.

"Could this be from a potential enemy?" Terry asked.

"Possibly" Yinn replied "But Who?" he continued.

Damian grabbed the card from Terry and he opened it again and he looked at the single word.

"Yinn…that is the question" he said.

* * *

Terry shook his head and he glanced at Yinn's watch.

"Yinn, what time is it?"

"It is 6:30 Master McGinnis"

"SH**! I'm gonna be late" Terry yelled "I gotta go" he continued while moving away from the two of them and heading towards the pathway that would take him to the winding stair case.

"Where are you going McGinnis….you're training isn't over" said Damian.

"I have to meet Dana, and I'll have to take a rain check on your….extreme training"

"There are no rain checks McGinnis. This is your life now, Batman is your life!" Damian exclaimed but his words fell upon deaf ears as Terry limped up the stairs and out of the bat-cave.

* * *

**Hamilton University- Café – 7:35 pm **

"And so the body contains…it contains….5 liters of blood?" came the voice of Dana Tan.

Dana was sitting in Hamilton University's semi-busy cafeteria with three medical books open in front of her. The young woman slowly opened her eyes and she stared forward for a second.

"Is that right, did I get it right?" she asked out loud, "Terry?"

Dana turned her head to the left and she let out a sigh because sitting next to her was her boyfriend Terry McGinnis. He was supposed to be helping her study for her medical mid-term that was quickly approaching but instead of helping he was busy sleeping. He was sitting in his seat with his head tilted back and his mouth wide open and snoring lightly.

Dana pursed her lips into a thin line and shook her head at the sight of him.

'_First he shows up late and now he's sleeping…ugh. I knew I should've asked Max to help me with this'_ she said in her mind, "Terry"

"….."

"Terry" Dana said again only a little louder.

"…" there still was no response just more light snoring.

"TERRY!" Dana shouted.

Terry opened his eyes and turned his head to her, looking around in every direction.

"What happened…what's going on…whose attack…" he started before stopping once he realized where he was at and who was looking at him.

"Welcome back to the real world" she said to him.

Terry stretched and rubbed his tired eyes.

"I'm sorry Dana, I'm a little tired"

"I can see that." She responded with a hint of frustration, "I need help on this midterm Terry but if you're too tired to help then I'll ask Max"

"I thought that was why I was here in the first place. Max turned you down"

"No, I didn't ask her. I asked you because I wanted to spend some time with my boyfriend. Since you've been with Mr. Wayne's son you've been like a ghost"

"What are you talking about we spend a lot of time together. Just the other night went out on a date." said Terry.

Dana scoffed.

"Yeah we went out and in the middle of the movie you leave and don't come back." She replied.

"I told you that Damian….Mr. Wayne needed me to run an errand for him"

"At 10:00 at night"

"It was a really important and plus that movie was really boring, so I didn't mind" Terry replied with laughter.

Dana smiled at his comment and then playfully hit him on his right side and the moment her hand touched his side he let out a loud grunt of pain.

"ERGGGH!" He grunted grabbing her hand.

* * *

Dana saw the look of pain and she scrunched her eyes up in curiosity.

"Whoa Terry are you okay?" she asked concern evident in her voice.

"Yeah…I'm…fine" he replied in a semi-strained voice.

Dana continued to look at him and she could see that he was favoring one side and still sucking in a few sharp breaths of air.  
"You don't sound fine" she replied reaching towards him, she tried to touch the spot where he was hurt again but he maneuvered her hands out of the way.

"You're not a Doctor yet Dana…so please don't touch, just trust I'm alright. It's just a bad bruise." He said.

"Bad bruise….how did you get this bad bruise?" she asked.

Terry looked at her and pursed his lips together in a thin line.

"I got kicked" he answered.

"You got kicked?" Dana repeated.

"Yeah"

Dana let out a sigh and shook her head.

"Have you been fighting Terry, because you know how I feel about that and…" Dana started before a steadying beeping sound interrupted her.

Terry's eyes widen at the sound and he looked to his bookbag. He grabbed his bag and he opened it and his eyes found a black beeper inside that was beeping.

Suddenly a light filled the sky.

Dana, Terry and a few of the other students in the cafeteria turned to the light to see the Bat-Signal shining brightly.

"Dana listen I'm sorry but I gotta go Mr. Wayne needs me"

"Now!" she exclaimed

"Yeah, you know how rich people are right. I'll call you later tonight" said Terry quickly as he rose to his feet. He leaned down and kissed Dana on the lips before turning and running away.

* * *

**Tuesday- Bat-Cave- 6:15 am**

"ARE YOU TIRED MCGINNIS! WHAT DID I TELL YOU! BATMAN DOESN'T GET TO BE TIRED!" Damian shouted as he threw out a punch that connected to Terry's solar plexus.

Terry doubled over in pain and dropped to the ground.

"GET UP McGINNIS! GET UP! GET…..!"

* * *

**Hamilton University- 2:15 pm**

"….UP! WAKE UP!"

Terry's eyes snapped open and he eyed his Professor at the front of the classroom.

"Mr. McGinnis, this is a place of learning and if you're going to sleep I suggest you leave."

"No Professor Flitwick"

"It's FLITNICK! NICK! PROFESSOR FLITNICK!"

"Sorry" Terry replied adjusting himself in his seat.

Professor Flitnick shook his head and he looked out over his students again and he started to lecture.

Terry attempted to listen to his teacher lecture but his eyes grew heavy and he once again drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Later- McGinnis Household- 8:00pm**

"Terry"

Terry heard the voice and he opened his eyes to see his mother, Mary McGinnis, looking back at him. He sat up on the couch and rubbed his eyes.

"Hey"

"It's time for dinner"

"Okay" he replied right before letting out a loud yawn.

* * *

The tired teen stood up from the couch and sleepily made his way over to the dinner table where his brother Matt McGinnis was already waiting.

"Geez Terry you look like crap"

Terry looked at his brother and then smacked him in the head.

"OW! MOM!" Matt yelled.

"Boys stop it" Mary said "This is the first meal that we've had together in months and I for one am going to enjoy this meal with my two favorite young men"

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! **

Terry heard the sound of the beeper going off and then right outside of the window the Bat-signal suddenly filled the sky.

Matt swung around in his seat and he saw the Bat-signal.

"HOLY CRAP MOM LOOK! IT'S THE BAT-SIGNAL!" Matt yelled jumping out of his chair and running to the window.

Terry quickly got up from the table and he headed for his room.

"Terry where are you going?" Mary asked.

"I GOTTA GO!" he yelled from his room.

He quickly returned with his book-bag in tow and his beeper in hand.

"I have to meet Mr. Wayne and I forgot that I promised that I would….mow his lawn" said Terry quickly as he made his way to the door.

"Mow his lawn at 8:00 at night"

"You know eccentric rich people can be…..…by mom" he said as he exited the apartment.

"TERRY! TERRY!"

* * *

**Wednesday**

"MCGINNIS!" Damian yelled

* * *

**Thursday**

"TERRY!" Dana yelled.

* * *

**Friday**

"McGINNIS!"

* * *

**SATURDAY**

"TERRY!" Mary yelled.

* * *

"McGINNIS!" Damian shouted.

* * *

"TERRY!" Dana shouted.

* * *

**Sunday**

**SWOOSH!** went the sound of the door to the dorm room opening.

"Terry?" came the voice of Maxine 'Max' Gibson.

"Hey Max" Terry replied.

Max looked him over and she could see bags under his eyes as well a bruise on his left cheek.

"Jeez, you look how I feel"

"Thanks. Can I come in?"

Max nodded her head and then moved away from the door and to one of the beds that was in the two bedroom dorm room. Terry took the invitation and walked inside.

* * *

Max walked from her bed and over to the desk that was in the dorm room and she sat down in the chair. Terry walked towards the bed he knew to be hers and he sat down.

"What brings you here Terry?" she asked while raising her eyebrows a bit.

"You" he answered "You alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine Terry really I am" Max replied swinging around in her chair and facing her laptop computer, "No need to worry"

"You say that and it makes me worry. You've kinda isolated yourself from…"

"No I haven't, I've just been….re-valuating a few things okay. …Okay maybe I have isolated myself a bit but….ever since Brian left, I've been…." Max stopped in mid-sentence because she heard the sound of light snoring. She turned around in her seat to see Terry laying down on her bed fast asleep.

Max shook her head and let a small smile grace her lips.

"Hmph…nice pep talk McGinnis" she said lightly before turning back around and to her computer. She looked to the left and she spotted her phone. Max bit her lip and she reluctantly grabbed her phone and she pressed a few buttons and put the phone to her ear.

"_Hi Max….it's me." _

* * *

**READ AND REVIEW: **** Hey readers it's me back again with the closing comments. I know it's another short chapter but again this story isn't really meant to have long chapters just short interludes that kinda tease a few things that are coming in Batman Beyond Volume 2. Can any of you loyal readers spot out the plot points that are coming up very soon, can you pick out the crumbs that I'm leaving. LOL! Anyway I hope you readers enjoyed this…slice of life type of chapter. This chapter or rather Terry's hectic life will be revisited before this bridging tale is over but I just wanted to give a little piece of how complicated and hectic his life has now become now that he has to balance his friends, family, Damian, and Batman. This was just a small piece of something much bigger and if I say anymore I risk spoiling some major plot lines down the road. So I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please before you go drop a review and tell me what you thought of the chapter. I'm really eager to hear what you guys have to say. This is Nomad88 saying later…**

**Ps: TSA: Amazing Spider-Man is up and Secret Warrior Spider-Man and Superman is being geared up for an update so please just stay tuned and keep checking back for an update. Cool. This is me saying Later….**

**Next Up: The Circus is in Town **


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